Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“Hi,” I replied.
She shook her head and laughed lightly. “It’s been a day. Sorry for the wildness. He’s teething, and sleeping isn’t happening. Not even a nap today. But I’m glad Than brought you over. If I can get this little heathen to take a nap, we can go out to the patio and have a drink.”
Than blew on the boy’s belly, and he kicked and laughed loudly.
“I think you need to take a nap with him, little momma,” Than told her, lifting his eyes from her son’s to hers.
She shrugged. “That sounds good in theory. But I doubt either of us gets a nap.”
A dark shadow appeared behind her before the man it belonged to did. He was tall with brown hair, hazel eyes, a chiseled jaw that could be made out, even under the short beard. The arms that wrapped around Halo, pulling her back to his chest, had tattoos. Realizing I was staring at the way he was holding her to him, I snapped my eyes up to see her looking up at him as he gazed down at her.
Envy was an evil thing that taunted us all. In this moment, I was experiencing a large dose of it. Not because I wanted the man who was holding Halo. But from the adoration on his face as he looked at her. It was powerful and so foreign to me that I didn’t want to look away. Yet I felt like I was a voyeur in their moment.
“I got him. You go get some sleep.” His deep voice had a rasp to it.
She smiled softly. “Did you get enough? It was your turn to sleep.”
He bent his head and kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose before placing a lingering one on her lips. Yep, I shouldn’t be watching this. But I was. Soaking it up because this was most likely as close to that kind of love as I’d ever get.
“I did,” he replied.
“I not do it!” Hawkins shouted again, and Than held him out under his armpits toward the other man.
Bane. That was who Halo had said she was married to.
“Take him. He’s feral,” Than said.
Bane smirked and released his wife, then moved around her to take his son.
“Dada, I not do it!” he told him.
“Sure you did,” Bane replied. “Whatever it was, you apologize to your momma.”
Hawkins frowned at his dad, then crossed his arms over his chest before looking at Halo. “I sowwy.”
Halo stepped over to him and rubbed the tip of her nose against his. “You’re forgiven.”
“What did he do this time?” Bane asked.
Halo winced and glanced over at Than apologetically. “It’s Than he should be apologizing to. He…well, I left him playing in his bedroom while I ran to use the bathroom. And in under the five minutes it took me, he went into your bedroom and found your, uh, stash of protection. He opened several of them and was filling one up with water in your bathtub. He took off running when I caught him. I’ve not cleaned it up yet, but I am headed to do that now.”
Bane threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter.
“That’s okay,” Than replied with a chuckle. “I’ll get it. You go take a nap. It’s my fault for not locking my door while I was gone.”
“Tan has bawwoons!” Hawkins announced with a big grin.
“Yep, he has lots of balloons,” Bane agreed, still grinning. Then he looked over at me. “You must be Montana.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He smirked, then cut his eyes back to Than.
Halo’s hand touched his arm, and he immediately swung his gaze to hers. She gave him a pointed look that just made his grin bigger.
“I got to get some things from my room,” Than told them, then looked at me. “This way.”
“It was nice to see you again,” Halo told me. “I’d say it won’t be this crazy next time you come over, but it probably will be. Hopefully, I won’t be sleep-deprived though, and we can visit.”
I smiled, then nodded before following Than, who was already walking away. “I hope you get some rest,” I told her, then hurried to catch up.
Bane said something low, and it sounded like a deep rumble, and I heard Halo shush him.
Than made another turn, then went to the first open door. I wasn’t sure if I should go inside or stay out here. It was awkward. I slowed and waited to see if he looked back at me. When he went inside and didn’t say anything, I decided to just stand outside the door. I was about to lean against the wall when he stepped out and frowned at me.
“What are you doing?”
“I, uh, was waiting on you,” I told him.
“Are you afraid of my condom balloons?” he asked.
A small laugh bubbled out of me, and I shook my head.